Big E Says WWE Status Is Unchanged After Neck Injury, May Never Be Medically Cleared
Mike Chiari@@mikechiari
Featured Columnist IVApril 13, 2024
Former WWE champion Big E provided an update on his recovery from a serious neck injury Saturday, noting that his status remains unchanged.
In a post on X, Big E wrote that while he is happy and healthy, he still hasn't been medically cleared to wrestle and "may never be cleared."
Ettore "Big E" Ewen @WWEBigEHey, all!<br>Two year neck scans are in. Things are unchanged. My C1 has healed fibrously but has not formed new bone. I'm not medically cleared and truthfully, I may never be cleared. But I am blessed to be free of pain, immensely happy and otherwise healthy. Life is good.
Back in March 2022, Big E was injured during a tag team match on SmackDown, pitting him and New Day stablemate Kofi Kingston against Sheamus and Ridge Holland of The Brawling Brutes.
Holland attempted to hit Big E with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex on the floor, but he wasn't able to fully rotate Big E over his head, resulting in Big E landing awkwardly on his head and neck area.
Big E was stretchered away, and it was later determined that he had fractured his C1 and C6 vertebrae.
Shortly after he suffered the injury, Big E announced that doctors told him he was expected to make a full recovery.
As part of his update on Saturday, Big E divulged that while his C1 vertebra has "healed fibrously," it has yet to form new bone, which is partly what is preventing him from being medically cleared.
Big E played college football at the University of Iowa and later established himself as a successful powerlifter before signing a developmental deal with WWE in 2009.
Individually, he became NXT champion and intercontinental champion, but he began to enjoy his greatest success in 2014 when he formed New Day with Kingston and Xavier Woods.
As part of New Day, Big E became an eight-time tag team champion, establishing New Day as one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history.
Big E set off on his own again in 2020, winning the IC title again before going on to win the Money in the Bank ladder match and later the WWE Championship.
He had established himself as one of WWE's most popular babyfaces at that time, and Big E has been sorely missed by the WWE Universe over the past two years.
It is unclear what the future holds for Big E, but it seems likely that WWE will always have a spot for Big E, as he has participated in pre-show panels and tryout camps.